


Beta

by CynicalGinger



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen, Siblings, South has issues, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 00:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7736893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalGinger/pseuds/CynicalGinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>South has always been the beta twin. She knows it when she is three and scowling at herself in a mirror, looking at the matching red outfits somebody dressed her and North in. Somehow she feels uncomfortable in her own skin even then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beta

South has always been the beta twin. She knows it when she is three and scowling at herself in a mirror, looking at the matching red outfits somebody dressed her and North in. Somehow she feels uncomfortable in her own skin even then, and she doesn’t see anything wrong with letting everyone know that she hates her clothes, hates that she can’t run off and play, and hates people calling her a boy. Adults ignore her for the most part. North is a perfectly behaved child, and he is quiet and calm where she is loud and aggressive. 

When South is five and her parents take her seriously, she still feels like she’s second best. At first her parents think that all of South’s problems will be solved if she is allowed to be a girl. They don’t understand that South is what South is. She is noisy, boisterous, constantly finding herself in trouble for this and that. People using the right pronouns and calling her a pretty little girl instead of a handsome young boy doesn’t make her magically transform, Cinderella style, into a refined young lady. Instead, the comparison between North and South becomes more pronounced, as South comes back from playing with tears in her new dresses and scuffs on her shoes and grime on her face and hair, and somehow even though North has torn the hem on his trousers and has dirt on his face he seems to get into less trouble for it than South. Maybe it’s because they expect North to get filthy, maybe it’s because he always apologises for it sincerely. Either way, South doesn’t see what the big deal is and she definitely doesn’t like the way she feels like she can’t do anything right. 

Years later, South and North are in their teens and people can tell them apart without South wearing a dress. Blockers spare South from puberty until she’s ready, and even then nothing could have prepared her for how much she hates it. Puberty is horrible. It’s so much time feeling awkward and uncomfortable, and in this at least North also seems to be suffering (though not as much as South, she’s positive that she has the worse deal out of the two of them). Both South and North are good enough at school to pass and then some, but where both of them shine is in physical activity. They both take up boxing, and they both do gymnastics, and they both have to fight their way past people who give pause when people see them doing things they hadn’t considered a boy or a girl doing. This is when South realises that North has her back for good. They look out for each other. North never lets anybody give South shit, not for anything. South does exactly the same for North, and between the two of them, they have the whole school running scared.

The end of formal schooling poses something of a problem for South. She’s good enough to apply to a college, but South can’t think of a worse way to spend the next few years. North is in a similar boat. He’s good enough (actually, he’s got a better GPA than South and could probably do better college wise) but he doesn’t see anything that leaps out at him as a great prospect for long term employment. There is an unspoken agreement between them that whatever their life plan is, they have to do it together. That’s just… how they are. South and North love each other, even though South still feels like North is plain old better than her in so many ways. She finds it hard to get past that feeling, even as an adult. While she thinks about the future, she takes up pole dancing and gets North to come along with her. It becomes their secret hobby, something they do two nights a week. There’s no shame in what they do, but it’s fun to have a secret that is just for them. 

In the end, it’s South who stumbles onto the idea of joining up. The military needs people like them, she reasons, and North is enthusiastic about the idea. They sign up together. They go through basic together. Finally, finally South finds herself in her element. She is just that little bit better than North at most of what she does here. South is faster, stronger, and meaner. North might be better when it comes to stealth and planning, but in the middle of a life-or-death fight, it’s South people want on their side. She’s fearless, she’s daring, and when she hits her stride nobody can take her. Together, South and North are the dream team. 

After basic, they prove themselves time and time again. South jumps right into the action, and North hangs back and scopes out the lay of the land. He doesn’t let South run into danger without back up. They’re a natural team, a complimentary pair. They save lives, they take lives. When there’s a job to be done, they do it efficiently and quickly (and sometimes a bit rougher than it strictly speaking /needed/ to be done, but they are who they are and South punches who she punches). Both South and North are commended for their efforts, but South is the one who really shines. She’s the one people look up to, the one the new kids are in awe of. Sure, North is scary, but he’s only scary on the battlefield. South knows her brother, and he’s a good person before he’s anything else. North wants to be good. He’s nice to people, he’s helpful and kind and he tries to be there for people. He’s a shoulder to cry on and a source of emotional support in a way that South just isn’t. South is detached, more so than North. Yes, she has friends, but South is well aware that her next mission could be her last and that the same goes for everyone around her. Nobody is going to get the better of South, not if she has anything to say about it. 

South trains harder than anyone. She tries, and she tries hard. Her muscles are defined, her strength is almost unmatched. And it is South who catches the attention of someone higher on the rung than herself and North, and who hears about Project Freelancer first. Naturally her partnership with North is a given, but South is filled with pride that she was fist. For once, just once, she manages to be that little bit better than North, and any guilt she feels is offset by the feeling of sweet satisfaction and excitement for the future.

**Author's Note:**

> I love South and North so much and I wanted to write something short for them. If you liked it, feel free to leave a review!


End file.
